How does resonance affect everyday objects, especially glasses and bridges and how much damage is it capable of doing, if any?
Hypothesis:
We agree and believe that resonance is powerful enough to cause a bridge to be destroyed because there are a few bridges that have been claimed to have been destroyed due to resonance. We want to prove how powerful resonance can be and that it can also be necessary in everyday life but just as destructive. In order to prove that resonance has a dark side we will conduct an experiment involving glass and finding its pitch to see what damage is caused from it, if any.
Vocabulary
Natural frequency: a sound wave that is created as a result of a vibrating object. Damping: known as a means of removing either mechanical or electrical energy by converting it to heat. Frequency: the rate at which something occurs or is repeated over a particular period of time Decibels: a unit used to measure the intensity of a sound or the power level of an electrical signal ;a degree of loudness Resonant frequency: A frequency that matches that of an oscillating object.
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging):a test that uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to make pictures of organs and structures inside the body.
Introduction to Resonance
Resonance runs through almost every branch of physics and is all around us, whether we realize it or not. Thanks to resonance we have everyday household items, like television, radio and microwaves. Not to mention without resonance there would be no music and what’s a world without music? Not a very happy or pleased world, that's for sure. In instruments especially, resonance plays a critical and key role, from a violin to a clarinet to the drums.[1]
Resonance is when one object is vibrating at its natural frequency and then another object vibrates at the same frequency causing them to both vibrate in sympathy in the original object’s natural frequency. This means it adds energy at just the precise moment and oscillation is reinforced, making the amplitude grow larger and larger, eventually becoming infinitely large.
Resonance is what causes an object to move in all directions, whether it is up or down or back and forth, in other words, oscillation. A great example of resonance is how a swing at a playground moves back and forth with every push. A vibration on a guitar string is another great example. Resonance occurs a lot in musical instruments especially in string instruments, such as a viola, a violin and a guitar..[2]
Examples of resonance in everyday life would be:
the swings at the playground
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Microwaves
Radio
The head motion of a bobble head head doll going up and down
musical instruments and our vocal cords
The Dark Side of Resonance is Revealed
Not everything about resonance is good though. Like every powerful natural phenomenon, resonance is not excluded from having a sinister and potent side. Even the sweetest and purest of a person or theory, in this case, can be malice. If taken to its full capacity, resonance can cause a catastrophic break to an object and ultimately cause damage to the society by occasionally causing a bridge to collapse. A great example would be when an opera singer, in a very loud voice hits the right frequency, causing a champagne or wine glass to resonate and break.
This is the malice and mysterious side we are leaning towards. We want to show just how powerful it is. Sure resonance is useful in our everyday lives but there comes a moment it shows its evil side and can even cause destruction.
There are times where it combines with the wind to create a vigorous wind that threatens havoc and mass destruction. It is so powerful in fact that it is powerful of destroying a bridge. Is it possible for resonance to cause something as powerful as big as bridge to break? According to some testimonies, experts and evidence it is. Resonance is no joke and there are a few people and bridges that can testify to that.
We will look at three different situations in three different years of three famous bridge collapses from which supposedly were damaged due to resonance and winds. These bridges include the Angers, Broughton and Tacoma Narrows Bridge incidents. We will use the testimonies, facts and other information we find to describe the occurrence of this phenomenon to see the damaging side effects this evil and twisted side can be capable to produce. Let’s not forget about Tesla, as he played a big role in explaining the beauty of resonance and the danger it is capable of producing.
Before the collapse
Today
Piece of Evidence #1: Broughton Bridge (1826)
On April 12, 1831 the bridge collapsed, reportedly because of a mechanical resonance induced by troops marching over the bridge in uniform step. About 74 men were marching on the Broughton Bridge, carrying out their duties as part of the 60th Rifle Corps, when all of a sudden they felt the bridge vibrate in rhythm with their footsteps. A bolt in a piece of the bridge the snapped out of place, causing the bridge to collapse at one end, throwing about forty of the men into the river. This makes us understand why it’s necessary to "break step" especially in the British Military. This is our earliest piece of evidence of a bridge collapsing due to resonance. Not to mention one of two cases in which marchers were involved..[3]
Piece of Evidence #2: Angers Bridge (1850)
It was a dark and stormy night, in the midst of a thunderstorm in 1850, when 500 men were crossing the suspension bridge in Angers. It had been in service for twelve years at the time. Then the cables suddenly broke and sent the roadway hurtling into the river along, a total of 220 victims with it making it devastating. According to experts, the catastrophe can be attributed to several causes: bad spoken communication of orders to the marchers due to the storm; gusts of wind causing the bridge to sway, keep in mind it is a suspension bridge; the swaying caused by the spontaneous and unified marching of the soldiers caused the bridge to shake uncontrollably, thus contributing to its downfall, while giving rise to fame to the a phenomenon of resonance, and not in a good way..[4]
Piece of Evidence #3: Tacoma Narrows Bridge (1940)
Now for the last and most famous case of destructive resonance we have our last bridge. The morning of November 7, 1940, after four months after its construction Tacoma Narrows Bridge began to vibrate dangerously up and down. A reporter at the scene, Leonard Coatswroth and his cocker spaniel were driving in his car. The bridge was hoisting so aggressively he had to abandon his hands and knees, which at the end were bleeding badly.
Then at about 11:00 that morning, the Tacoma Bridge tore itself apart and just buckled. At the time the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was designed to withstand winds of 120 miles per hour. The wind on the November day was only 42 miles per hour according to Leon S. Moisseff, a great and well-known engineer, which caused it to collapse. How is this possible? No one has an answer for sure. Experts do however agree that somehow the wind caused the bridge to resonate and ultimately leading to its unpredicted fate. This shows us once again how resonance can be so magnificent yet destructive at the same time. Galloping Gertie, as it had came to be known to many, was just another victim of resonance.
Even though a forty-two mile per hour wind shouldn’t have been able to cause such havoc to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge it some how did. As the wind blew against the bridge it somehow interacted with the structure to produce a rhythm in the air currents, which matched the rhythm of the bridge’s motion. In the end this caused the bridge to collapse. It was a disastrous combination of the windy conditions and the bridge’s destruction that called for its own fall in the end.
Now there is a new bridge in place and it is way wider and has been re-engineered, as the engineers looked at what had caused the fall of the first bridge and made sure it would not happen to the second one.
”After the collapse of the Galloping Gertie, many more other bridges that were considered sleek and flexible, like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Whitestone Bridge in New York, were reinforced or re-engineered to reduce the possibility of destructive resonance” according to Debra Wirkman.[5]
Witness and Evidence #4: Nikola Tesla
A guy that agrees with the fact that resonance is a mighty and mysterious occurrence was the genius and the Master of Resonance himself, Nikola Tesla. He studied both mechanical and electrical versions of resonance. His goal in life was to find out all he could about resonance and find out what made resonance so unique from all the other branches of physics. He had some ups and downs but along the way he found himself astonished and at awe at what he found.
Who is Nikola Tesla??
We can’t talk about resonance and not talk about Nikola Tesla. He was a unique and neurotic genius who had a great influence on our technology and culture of today and a famous inventor of his time. One of his inventions is the now infamous "Earthquake machine" or Tesla Oscillator. He actually is the one we have to thank for the crazy scientist stereotype in movies, such as Frankenstein. Have you ever seen the scene where there is lightening flashing and these arcs start glowing with electricity that runs into the body of the monster? Well he actually made arcs like those and he really did have his own secret lair in which he did amazing experiments and wacky labs just for the fun of it. Tesla enjoyed his work even if he got no compensation for it like Einstein. That is one of the things that distinguish him from Einstein, another great physicist of his era..[6]
One Famous Experiment
For one of his various labs, Tesla had attached a small vibrator to a column in his New York City laboratory and it had started vibrating. During the experiment he noted during his little experiment that at certain frequencies specific pieces of equipment in the room would jiggle and if he changed the frequency the jiggle would move to another part of the room. This was a great observation as it paved the way to the making of his “Earthquake Machine”. However, he didn’t account the little fact that the column ran downward into the foundation beneath the building where his laboratory was, so his vibrations were actually being broadcasted all over Manhattan and this brought several of problems. The police came in just as he put an end to his experiment. Of course the police were already aware of his ongoing innocent experiments due to complaints from neighbors. Windows were broken, buildings were shook, and people were scared out of their mind. An earthquake in New York City? Very unlikely for the city of lights, which is what the citizens were thinking at the time they felt the earthquake rattle their city.
Tesla’s Achievements
Although he wasn’t the first person to discover resonance he became obsessed with it and wanted to see all its glory that surrounded it. Along the way he created an artificial earthquake, numerous lightning storms, and nearly caused the steel frame of a sky scraper under construction in Manhattan to breakdown, all while trying to shine a light on the mysterious aura that accompanied resonance. Resonance did lead him to some fame and compensation for all his work and effort. According to the Supreme Court in 1943, Tesla was the first to realize that resonance could be used to transmit and receive radio messages before Marconi did.
Thanks to him we can see resonance in a different perspective. He showed us how magnificent a concept such as resonance really is and no matter how insignificant something seems it may just turn out to be the most powerful or special belief there is. He was passionate about resonance and just like Tesla it is one of the wonders of the world we have yet to fully understand to its capacity.
Conclusion
Resonant destruction isn’t limited to just the winds action or to bridges, however, it can be caused by a number of other things that can come in to play. Every structure or object has some sort of weakness or fault to which can vibrate. An earthquake, for example can be more dangerous if the vibrations of the quakes matches that of the natural vibrations frequency of a building or a bridge.
Resonance has two sides; one of destruction and havoc and one that is important to our lives. We have talked about the “Hyde” side now its time to talk about the “Jekyll” side of resonance. Loads of things involve resonance “from chemical reactions to voice production to the rustling of leaves in the breeze.” (Wirkman) We as humans have learned to take what has been offered to us and use it to its full potential, which includes resonance.
Our goal was to show you that resonance can be harmful and powerful when it has the right tools but we also don’t want to take away from all the greatness it is. If we did that we would not be doing resonance or Nikola Tesla, who spent his life figuring I out and coming up with all these cool experiments, any justice. Our real goal for this project was to show you just how vital to life, not just physics, resonance is. Whether “you cook your lunch in the microwave, rock your car out of a rut, push a friend on the swing or play the guitar, you are benefiting from the phenomenon of resonance ” according to the article THE FALL OF THE TACOMA NARROWS BRIDGE by Debra Wirkman. You don’t need to take physics to know how to use a microwave or how to turn on the TV, that’s common sense, but you do need it to understand how life works, which exactly what resonance is.
Table of Contents
Opera Singer Broke the Wine Glass...again!
Question:
How does resonance affect everyday objects, especially glasses and bridges and how much damage is it capable of doing, if any?Hypothesis:
We agree and believe that resonance is powerful enough to cause a bridge to be destroyed because there are a few bridges that have been claimed to have been destroyed due to resonance. We want to prove how powerful resonance can be and that it can also be necessary in everyday life but just as destructive. In order to prove that resonance has a dark side we will conduct an experiment involving glass and finding its pitch to see what damage is caused from it, if any.Vocabulary
Natural frequency: a sound wave that is created as a result of a vibrating object.
Damping: known as a means of removing either mechanical or electrical energy by converting it to heat.
Frequency: the rate at which something occurs or is repeated over a particular period of time
Decibels: a unit used to measure the intensity of a sound or the power level of an electrical signal ;a degree of loudness
Resonant frequency: A frequency that matches that of an oscillating object.
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging):a test that uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to make pictures of organs and structures inside the body.
Introduction to Resonance
Resonance runs through almost every branch of physics and is all around us, whether we realize it or not. Thanks to resonance we have everyday household items, like television, radio and microwaves. Not to mention without resonance there would be no music and what’s a world without music? Not a very happy or pleased world, that's for sure. In instruments especially, resonance plays a critical and key role, from a violin to a clarinet to the drums.[1]
Resonance is when one object is vibrating at its natural frequency and then another object vibrates at the same frequency causing them to both vibrate in sympathy in the original object’s natural frequency. This means it adds energy at just the precise moment and oscillation is reinforced, making the amplitude grow larger and larger, eventually becoming infinitely large.
Resonance is what causes an object to move in all directions, whether it is up or down or back and forth, in other words, oscillation. A great example of resonance is how a swing at a playground moves back and forth with every push. A vibration on a guitar string is another great example. Resonance occurs a lot in musical instruments especially in string instruments, such as a viola, a violin and a guitar..[2]
Examples of resonance in everyday life would be:
The Dark Side of Resonance is Revealed
Not everything about resonance is good though. Like every powerful natural phenomenon, resonance is not excluded from having a sinister and potent side. Even the sweetest and purest of a person or theory, in this case, can be malice. If taken to its full capacity, resonance can cause a catastrophic break to an object and ultimately cause damage to the society by occasionally causing a bridge to collapse. A great example would be when an opera singer, in a very loud voice hits the right frequency, causing a champagne or wine glass to resonate and break.
This is the malice and mysterious side we are leaning towards. We want to show just how powerful it is. Sure resonance is useful in our everyday lives but there comes a moment it shows its evil side and can even cause destruction.
There are times where it combines with the wind to create a vigorous wind that threatens havoc and mass destruction. It is so powerful in fact that it is powerful of destroying a bridge. Is it possible for resonance to cause something as powerful as big as bridge to break? According to some testimonies, experts and evidence it is. Resonance is no joke and there are a few people and bridges that can testify to that.
We will look at three different situations in three different years of three famous bridge collapses from which supposedly were damaged due to resonance and winds. These bridges include the Angers, Broughton and Tacoma Narrows Bridge incidents. We will use the testimonies, facts and other information we find to describe the occurrence of this phenomenon to see the damaging side effects this evil and twisted side can be capable to produce. Let’s not forget about Tesla, as he played a big role in explaining the beauty of resonance and the danger it is capable of producing.
Piece of Evidence #1: Broughton Bridge (1826)
On April 12, 1831 the bridge collapsed, reportedly because of a mechanical resonance induced by troops marching over the bridge in uniform step. About 74 men were marching on the Broughton Bridge, carrying out their duties as part of the 60th Rifle Corps, when all of a sudden they felt the bridge vibrate in rhythm with their footsteps. A bolt in a piece of the bridge the snapped out of place, causing the bridge to collapse at one end, throwing about forty of the men into the river. This makes us understand why it’s necessary to "break step" especially in the British Military. This is our earliest piece of evidence of a bridge collapsing due to resonance. Not to mention one of two cases in which marchers were involved..[3]Piece of Evidence #2: Angers Bridge (1850)
It was a dark and stormy night, in the midst of a thunderstorm in 1850, when 500 men were crossing the suspension bridge in Angers. It had been in service for twelve years at the time. Then the cables suddenly broke and sent the roadway hurtling into the river along, a total of 220 victims with it making it devastating. According to experts, the catastrophe can be attributed to several causes: bad spoken communication of orders to the marchers due to the storm; gusts of wind causing the bridge to sway, keep in mind it is a suspension bridge; the swaying caused by the spontaneous and unified marching of the soldiers caused the bridge to shake uncontrollably, thus contributing to its downfall, while giving rise to fame to the a phenomenon of resonance, and not in a good way..[4]Piece of Evidence #3: Tacoma Narrows Bridge (1940)
Now for the last and most famous case of destructive resonance we have our last bridge. The morning of November 7, 1940, after four months after its construction Tacoma Narrows Bridge began to vibrate dangerously up and down. A reporter at the scene, Leonard Coatswroth and his cocker spaniel were driving in his car. The bridge was hoisting so aggressively he had to abandon his hands and knees, which at the end were bleeding badly.Then at about 11:00 that morning, the Tacoma Bridge tore itself apart and just buckled. At the time the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was designed to withstand winds of 120 miles per hour. The wind on the November day was only 42 miles per hour according to Leon S. Moisseff, a great and well-known engineer, which caused it to collapse. How is this possible? No one has an answer for sure. Experts do however agree that somehow the wind caused the bridge to resonate and ultimately leading to its unpredicted fate. This shows us once again how resonance can be so magnificent yet destructive at the same time. Galloping Gertie, as it had came to be known to many, was just another victim of resonance.
Even though a forty-two mile per hour wind shouldn’t have been able to cause such havoc to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge it some how did. As the wind blew against the bridge it somehow interacted with the structure to produce a rhythm in the air currents, which matched the rhythm of the bridge’s motion. In the end this caused the bridge to collapse. It was a disastrous combination of the windy conditions and the bridge’s destruction that called for its own fall in the end.
Now there is a new bridge in place and it is way wider and has been re-engineered, as the engineers looked at what had caused the fall of the first bridge and made sure it would not happen to the second one.
”After the collapse of the Galloping Gertie, many more other bridges that were considered sleek and flexible, like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Whitestone Bridge in New York, were reinforced or re-engineered to reduce the possibility of destructive resonance” according to Debra Wirkman.[5]
Witness and Evidence #4: Nikola Tesla
A guy that agrees with the fact that resonance is a mighty and mysterious occurrence was the genius and the Master of Resonance himself, Nikola Tesla. He studied both mechanical and electrical versions of resonance. His goal in life was to find out all he could about resonance and find out what made resonance so unique from all the other branches of physics. He had some ups and downs but along the way he found himself astonished and at awe at what he found.Who is Nikola Tesla??
We can’t talk about resonance and not talk about Nikola Tesla. He was a unique and neurotic genius who had a great influence on our technology and culture of today and a famous inventor of his time. One of his inventions is the now infamous "Earthquake machine" or Tesla Oscillator. He actually is the one we have to thank for the crazy scientist stereotype in movies, such as Frankenstein. Have you ever seen the scene where there is lightening flashing and these arcs start glowing with electricity that runs into the body of the monster? Well he actually made arcs like those and he really did have his own secret lair in which he did amazing experiments and wacky labs just for the fun of it. Tesla enjoyed his work even if he got no compensation for it like Einstein. That is one of the things that distinguish him from Einstein, another great physicist of his era..[6]One Famous Experiment
For one of his various labs, Tesla had attached a small vibrator to a column in his New York City laboratory and it had started vibrating. During the experiment he noted during his little experiment that at certain frequencies specific pieces of equipment in the room would jiggle and if he changed the frequency the jiggle would move to another part of the room. This was a great observation as it paved the way to the making of his “Earthquake Machine”. However, he didn’t account the little fact that the column ran downward into the foundation beneath the building where his laboratory was, so his vibrations were actually being broadcasted all over Manhattan and this brought several of problems. The police came in just as he put an end to his experiment. Of course the police were already aware of his ongoing innocent experiments due to complaints from neighbors. Windows were broken, buildings were shook, and people were scared out of their mind. An earthquake in New York City? Very unlikely for the city of lights, which is what the citizens were thinking at the time they felt the earthquake rattle their city.Tesla’s Achievements
Although he wasn’t the first person to discover resonance he became obsessed with it and wanted to see all its glory that surrounded it. Along the way he created an artificial earthquake, numerous lightning storms, and nearly caused the steel frame of a sky scraper under construction in Manhattan to breakdown, all while trying to shine a light on the mysterious aura that accompanied resonance. Resonance did lead him to some fame and compensation for all his work and effort. According to the Supreme Court in 1943, Tesla was the first to realize that resonance could be used to transmit and receive radio messages before Marconi did.Thanks to him we can see resonance in a different perspective. He showed us how magnificent a concept such as resonance really is and no matter how insignificant something seems it may just turn out to be the most powerful or special belief there is. He was passionate about resonance and just like Tesla it is one of the wonders of the world we have yet to fully understand to its capacity.
Conclusion
Resonant destruction isn’t limited to just the winds action or to bridges, however, it can be caused by a number of other things that can come in to play. Every structure or object has some sort of weakness or fault to which can vibrate. An earthquake, for example can be more dangerous if the vibrations of the quakes matches that of the natural vibrations frequency of a building or a bridge.Resonance has two sides; one of destruction and havoc and one that is important to our lives. We have talked about the “Hyde” side now its time to talk about the “Jekyll” side of resonance. Loads of things involve resonance “from chemical reactions to voice production to the rustling of leaves in the breeze.” (Wirkman) We as humans have learned to take what has been offered to us and use it to its full potential, which includes resonance.
Our goal was to show you that resonance can be harmful and powerful when it has the right tools but we also don’t want to take away from all the greatness it is. If we did that we would not be doing resonance or Nikola Tesla, who spent his life figuring I out and coming up with all these cool experiments, any justice. Our real goal for this project was to show you just how vital to life, not just physics, resonance is. Whether “you cook your lunch in the microwave, rock your car out of a rut, push a friend on the swing or play the guitar, you are benefiting from the phenomenon of resonance ” according to the article THE FALL OF THE TACOMA NARROWS BRIDGE by Debra Wirkman. You don’t need to take physics to know how to use a microwave or how to turn on the TV, that’s common sense, but you do need it to understand how life works, which exactly what resonance is.
Presentation
References: